Ask John: Why Are the Subtitles on Import DVDs Poorly Translated?

Question:
This has been bothering me for quite some time now. Why are the anime imports (english subbed) so badly translated compared to fansubs? But it’s supposedly illegal to sell fansubbed versions, and if so, why not let the people who fansub anime officially translate the imports?

Answer:
It’s been a while since I last addressed this topic, so a fresh explanation may be valuable for new readers and novice anime fans.

By the sound of your question, I’m guessing that you’re referring to the “import” anime DVDs with optional English and Chinese subtitles that are available cheap through sources like eBay and various online specialty retailers. The reason why these “import” anime DVDs have such incomprehensible translations is because they’re counterfeit DVDs manufactured by video pirates commonly based in Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan. These DVDs are usually translated from original Japanese into Chinese then into English by translators who aren’t very fluent in either Japanese or English. Furthermore, since these pirated discs are produced quickly and cheaply, and have no need to meet any quality standards, there’s little reason for them to ensure that they have grammatically correct, accurate, and comprehensible translations. You get what you pay for, and cheap knock-off DVDs tend to have terrible translations.

I’ve never encountered or heard of any authentic, officially licensed Japanese DVDs with poorly translated or incomprehensible optional English subtitles (although there are official Japanese DVDs that use “dubtitles” instead of literal subtitles). Genuine, officially licensed Japanese DVDs with English subtitles normally have good or very good translations. It’s only cheaply produced bootleg DVDs imported from other parts of Asia that have especially bad translations.

Typical fansubs have relatively accurate and grammatically correct translations because they’re transcribed by fans who actually care about anime and want to share a comprehensible translation with other fans, unlike Asian bootleggers who are only interested in earning quick profits from hastily produced counterfeit DVDs. But make no mistake, fansubbing is illegal. Any unauthorized distribution of anime, regardless of whether or not it’s translated, is a violation of international copyright law. Bootleg DVDs, untranslated video files distributed on peer to peer networks like Share, conventional digital fansubs distributed through BitTorrent, and anime hosted on multimedia sites like YouTube are all equally illegal. The only difference among these forms of piracy is the degree of malicious intent behind them.

Getting back to the primary subject, officially translated anime DVDs use professional translators. I know of occasions in which fan translated scripts have been used as a basis for official, commercial translations, and I’m sure that there are fan translators who have transitioned into professional translation. However, the “import” DVDs that are imported from Hong Kong and other parts of Asia are not official releases, and are not officially sanctioned translations. Legitimate not-for-profit fansubs frequently have accurate, “good” dialogue translations, but if you’re concerned with translation accuracy, I recommend purchasing authentic, fully licensed commercial releases from established and reputable distributors and retailers. Legitimate commercial releases can often present the most accurate translation available because official commercial releases employ experienced, professional translators who have access to original Japanese scripts and perfectly clear audio and video footage.